First of all, I must say that I love my grandmother a lot! As a kid, I was her favourite and was pampered to the core by her. She had some funny ways to deal with things and the memory of each instance makes me smile.
One such instance was when I was at my grand aunt's place in Goa, India for the summer holidays. The place is beautiful, situated between hills, and the old ancestral house is HUGE! The propery extends from the front courtyard, to a nice little kitchen garden at the back, and further down to a rice field.
Old houses tend to have old secrets and some great stories. I had heard a lot of them and even had my own little discovery of a small tunnel starting in the cellar and opening up at a nearby river bank. Exciting stuff.
During the holidays, after spending the day picking fruits, playing and having a lot of fun, I came back. I went looking for my grandmom and heard her calling out to me from the kitchen. So I headed towards the kitchen. Nearing the kitchen, I heard my grandmother speaking to someone, but it sounded like a one sided conversation. At least all I could hear was her voice. I smiled to myself and thought she was up to her kookoo stuff (I loved teasing her about it).
I entered the kitchen and saw her facing the door and talking to what sounded like my grandfather (From my grandmother's conversation). Obviously I did not understand what was going on and stood there staring. All I could make out was another shape in the kitchen and that too was rapidly fading away.
A moment later, my grandmother turned and smiled at me. Her smile was so comforting that I was back to normal. I asked her in the usual jest if she was up to her old timer behavior again, and if she was seeing things. She calmly replied saying that she was speaking to my grandfather (who passed away before I was born) and was talking about me. I thought she was pulling my leg, so I laughed it off. But then she said my grandfather had told her I had grazed my elbow while playing and may need antiseptic. Then I did not know how to react, and decided to shut up. She smiled and said that our loved ones watch over us even after moving on sometimes, and there is nothing to be scared or worried about. If what we encounter is trying to talk to us, then we should talk and find out what the issue is.
Years later, I have realised that speaking without fear actually gets the required effect. I sometimes wish she would come and talk to me, but maybe there are other plans.
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